One of the most physically annoying things about aging is not the wrinkles & fine lines visibly showing–get on those anti-aging serums, stay out of the sun, use sunblock, moisturize daily, get ahold of some Asian genes, etc–but that agonizing pain in the back of your mandible. You know the pain I’m talking about, right? That jerk wisdom tooth who’s popping up to say, “hey gurl, sup?” & your response is, “BYE FELICIA, DISAPPEAR.” That pain. Yeahhhh, so since I can only pop so many pills of Motrin before I destroy my liver & overdose, all my food choices have been solely categorized under, “can I feed this to a baby?” and “cannot feed to baby.” Thank goodness for my random craving for cháo (also known as congee or rice porridge) a few weeks ago because it’s so easy to make & I can eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Also, it falls under the, “10/10 can feed this to a baby.” I mean, it’s not exactly healthy to be exclusively eating it because rice is not going to fulfill the essential vitamin spectrum for a healthy body, but look, my mouth hurts to chew so I’m going to choose to slurp on rice porridge. That’s where the versatility comes into play though! Dressing up porridge with your favorite ingredients will help you get over the general boringness that is porridge.

After publishing over 50 recipes on TB, you’d think that as a breakfast lover, I’d have a bundle of breakfast recipes, but I don’t. Breakfast should be on the no-fuss side of things, especially when you’re on the go in the morning, but I think you weekend breakfasters will appreciate this dish. Many of you may be familiar with donburi, a Japanese rice bowl dish topped with meat of your choice. Oyakodon is a type of donburi in that it is characterized by its usage of egg, making it perfect for breakfast or brunch. My Tofu Oyakodon recipe is a medium fuss breakfast/brunch recipe, perfect for kitchen beginners. It’s easy, efficient, cheap, & delicious that it works as a great base recipe. Since you have to bake the tofu & you’ve got some dishes to wash, it’s kind of a medium fuss type of meal, but well worth it, I promise! Modify it to your own personal preferences because if you’ve never eaten oyakodon before, it’ll change your breakfast game. So what else is the fuss with this recipe? Chopping up onions & mixing an egg. You can handle that, right? Right? No one needs a doctorate to chop up some onions, so be more proactive & less lazy, GET CHOPPIN’!

If you’ve never heard of this delicious Sichuan dish before, now you have & you’ve seen a picture of it. Of course my rendition of it errs on the traditional meat & tofu dish, but this is still an amazing Chinese dish, which pretty much is a party in your mouth. Probably might even make you sweat a little if you can’t handle the heat. This would not be the greatest recipe to try if you’re in, oh I don’t know, California or Florida right now–the states that completely avoided the Polar Vortex because they defy the laws of Seasons–but if you’re in any of the other 48 states with the exception of parts of Texas, this dish is right up your alley. Autumn is happening & it’s slowly getting chillier with each passing week, so if you’re one of the strange individuals who doesn’t like soup–& apparently I know about at least 3 of you–mapo tofu is a nice solution. This dish is the perfect embodiment of Sichuan cuisine with its usage of their spicy peppercorns, reminiscent to the heatwave that is hammering a drought stricken California or the ever humid Florida. So, eat up this recipe & experience the heat before venturing out to the chilly autumn wind. Even if you’re not a fan of tofu, the sauce is so distinctive in flavor that the tofu won’t even bother you one bit. Not a fan of mushrooms? We’ve already talked about this.